Ready in under an hour, pineapple teriyaki chicken is a quick dinner recipe for busy nights. The homemade teriyaki sauce adds tons of fresh, bold flavor—you control the ingredients, sodium, and spice. Serve with rice, quinoa, or roasted vegetables for a wholesome meal.
If you’ve ever made my honey garlic shrimp, you know that dinners can be quick, healthy, and flavorful. Today’s baked pineapple teriyaki chicken is bursting with flavor and makes delicious leftovers. I encourage you to add this easy meal to your weeknight recipe rotation!
Why You’ll Love This Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Simple to prepare
- Completely from scratch
- Healthy and wholesome
- Ready in under an hour
- Makes great leftovers
- Customizable to your taste preferences
- Packed with protein
Favorite Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
This is my very favorite homemade teriyaki sauce made with real, wholesome ingredients. It is similar to the sauce in this honey teriyaki chicken (we use more honey in that recipe). It’s incredibly versatile and delicious on cooked salmon or stir-fry veggies, too.
We’ll use brown sugar and honey to sweeten the sauce. Not much of either, just enough to balance the soy sauce and bring a sweet profile to the sauce as a whole. For flavor, use soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and a little pepper for spice. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty, and you know exactly what’s in it.
If you enjoy trying homemade sauces, try the garlic pan sauce from this creamy garlic chicken and vegetables dish. (Unbelievable!)
Overview: How to Make Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
- Make the sauce. Cook the sauce ingredients together on the stovetop.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken. Arrange the chicken and pineapple slices in a baking dish. I add a little pineapple into the mix because I love sweet and savory together. Feel free to leave it out, though. Pour all of the teriyaki sauce on top. Make sure every inch is coated in the sauce.
- Bake. Bake until the chicken is completely cooked through—about 30-32 minutes. During this time, prepare any sides you want to serve alongside.
- Serve. Sprinkle a little green onion and a dash of sesame seeds on top!
Baker’s Tip: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can use bone-in chicken thighs, drumsticks, wings or any cut of chicken you like best.
More Favorite Dinner Recipes
- Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Maple Sesame Salmon
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Lemon Thyme Chicken
Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simply pour this homemade teriyaki sauce over chicken and bake!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon room temperature water
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (43g) honey
- 1/2 cup (120ml) soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
- optional: chopped green onion and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. It will be a milky liquid. This is for thickening the sauce. Combine the cornstarch mixture, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper together in a small saucepan over low heat. Allow to simmer while whisking occasionally. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside for at least 10 minutes, allowing it to cool and thicken.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Arrange chicken and pineapple slices in a bake pan (any size works—I used a 10-inch casserole dish. Use a 9-inch square pan, an 11×7-inch pan, an 8-inch square pan, etc). Pour sauce on top, then turn the chicken over to make sure every inch is coated in the sauce. Use a basting/pastry brush if needed.
- Bake uncovered for 30–32 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. This is optional: at the 25-minute mark, remove from the oven and carefully slice the chicken into chunks, then return to the oven. The smaller the chicken pieces, the more teriyaki they’ll soak up. You can also cut up the chicken when it is raw prior to cooking.
- Sprinkle green onion and sesame seeds on top and serve the chicken and pineapple with sauce from the pan poured on top. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The teriyaki sauce, prepared in step 1, can be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can even prepare the dish through step 3, cover the pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Then bake as directed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Saucepan | Casserole Dish (any similar size will work) | Pastry Brush
- For a more rounded out meal, serve with broccoli, brown rice, quinoa, baked sweet potatoes, or anything to soak up the teriyaki sauce.
- Using SparkRecipes calculator: including all the extra teriyaki sauce you’ll pour over the chicken when serving, this dish comes out to about 260 calories, 34 grams of protein, and 2g fat per serving. This is based on using four 6-ounce chicken breasts.